Iranians arrested in Kenya were plotting to hit US, Israeli interests

Two Iranians arrested in Kenya last month and found to be in possession of 33 pounds of high explosives were targeting US, Israeli, British, and Saudi interests in the country, according to Kenyan officials.AP:

Officials in Kenya say that two Iranian agents arrested with explosives planned to attack Israeli, American, British or Saudi Arabian targets inside Kenya.

The officials said Monday that the plot appears to fit into a global pattern of attacks or attempted attacks by Iranian agents, mostly against Israeli interests.

Kenyan security forces arrested the Iranians in June and were led to 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of RDX, a powerful explosive, in the coastal city of Mombasa. Several hotels on the coast are Israeli-owned.

One official said the Iranians are members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, an elite and secretive unit. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing security issues.

Jonathon Evans, head of Britain's MI5, made a rare public statement last week where he also warned of Iranian state sponsored terrorism:

Western intelligence services believe that the more pressure Iran is under, the more it will resort to these methods. In a rare public address last week, Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, Britain's security service, said that "in parallel with rising concern about Iran's nuclear intentions, we have seen in recent months a series of attempted terrorist plots against Israeli interests in India, Azerbaijan and elsewhere" and that "a return to state-sponsored terrorism by Iran or its associates, such as Hezbollah, cannot be ruled out as pressure on the Iranian leadership increases."

The Iranians in Kenya were members of the elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards responsible for assassinations and foreign terrorist operations, according to Kenyan officials. It makes you wonder how many more terrorists Iran has deployed and where they might hit us.

Two Iranians arrested in Kenya last month and found to be in possession of 33 pounds of high explosives were targeting US, Israeli, British, and Saudi interests in the country, according to Kenyan officials.

Officials in Kenya say that two Iranian agents arrested with explosives planned to attack Israeli, American, British or Saudi Arabian targets inside Kenya.

The officials said Monday that the plot appears to fit into a global pattern of attacks or attempted attacks by Iranian agents, mostly against Israeli interests.

Kenyan security forces arrested the Iranians in June and were led to 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of RDX, a powerful explosive, in the coastal city of Mombasa. Several hotels on the coast are Israeli-owned.

One official said the Iranians are members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, an elite and secretive unit. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing security issues.

Jonathon Evans, head of Britain's MI5, made a rare public statement last week where he also warned of Iranian state sponsored terrorism:

Western intelligence services believe that the more pressure Iran is under, the more it will resort to these methods. In a rare public address last week, Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, Britain's security service, said that "in parallel with rising concern about Iran's nuclear intentions, we have seen in recent months a series of attempted terrorist plots against Israeli interests in India, Azerbaijan and elsewhere" and that "a return to state-sponsored terrorism by Iran or its associates, such as Hezbollah, cannot be ruled out as pressure on the Iranian leadership increases."

The Iranians in Kenya were members of the elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards responsible for assassinations and foreign terrorist operations, according to Kenyan officials. It makes you wonder how many more terrorists Iran has deployed and where they might hit us.